Closing arguments are expected Thursday in the trial of Gerald Stanley, accused of second-degree murder in the death of Colten Boushie, 22, of the Red Pheasant First Nation.
Monday marked the fifth and final day of evidence in Battleford Court of Queen’s Bench.
The accused took the stand as the final witness at the trial, describing how his Tokarev pistol “just went off” the day Boushie was shot in the back of the head and killed.
Stanley testified that he and his son were working in the yard when a loud SUV with a flat tire entered the property in August 2016.
He told court he thought he’d used the last bullet in the pistol and didn’t point the gun at anyone.
The rancher from the Biggar, Sask., area has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and is out on bail.
After defence lawyer Scott Spencer and Crown prosecutor Bill Burge make their remarks, Chief Justice Martel Popescul will deliver his instructions, also known as the charge, to the jury.
Popescul will tell jurors how to apply the law to the facts of the case, said Mark Brayford, a defence lawyer not associated with the case.
“This is one of the most important steps in a jury trial because all of the evidence is in at that point,” he said.
Almost all jury trials that are appealed result from the lawyers arguing over the way the judge explained the law, according to Brayford.
There is no indication for how long jury deliberations will take.